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François de Beauharnais (1714–1800)

French nobleman, soldier, politician, colonial governor and admiral

Correspondence, annotated notebooks and portrait silhouettes prepared for research
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Record originEnglish Wikipedia
Text licenseCC BY-SA 4.0
Source revisionAug 31, 2026
Entity authorityQ3086122 ↗
Source-derived summary

François de Beauharnais, Marquis de La Ferté-Beauharnais (16 January 1714, La Rochelle – 18 June 1800, Saint-Germain-en-Laye) was a prominent French nobleman, whose life spanned military, political and colonial spheres.

He was seigneur de Beaumont et de Bellechauve, baron de Beauville, 1st marquis de la Ferté-Beauharnais, chef d'escadre des armées royales, and governor of the French colony of Martinique. He was the son of Claude de Beauharnais, sieur de Beaumont et de Bellechauve (1674-1738), and Renée Hardouineau de Landanière (1696-1766).

In 1752, he acquired the château of La Ferté-Avrain. In recognition of his service to the crown, King Louis XV elevated his estate to a marquisate, officially naming him Marquis de La Ferté-Beauharnais in July 1764.

Marriages and issue

On 13 September 1751, at Blois, François de Beauharnais married Marie Anne Henriette Françoise Pyvart de Chastullé (17 March 1722 – 5 October 1766). They had three children:

François de Beauharnais (1752–1753)

François de Beauharnais (VI) (1756–1846), seigneur de Beaumont et de Bellechauve, baron de Beauville, 3rd comte des Roches-Baritaud, 2nd marquis de la Ferté-Beauharnais

Alexandre de Beauharnais (1760–1794).

On Henriette's death, François de Beauharnais in 1796 married Marie Euphémie Désirée Tascher de la Pagerie (1739–1803), an aunt of Josephine de Beauharnais.

Life

In 1751, he was made chef d'escadre des vaisseaux du roi, then governor of Martinique. On 20 April 1752, he acquired the château de La Ferté-Avrain, which had recently been rebuilt.

Editorial summary

This brief starts where responsible research should: with the source description of “François de Beauharnais (1714–1800)” as french nobleman, soldier, politician, colonial governor and admiral. Everything that follows is an evidence route, not borrowed authority.

Editorial reviewA useful biographical orientation record, particularly for establishing names, roles and a first chronology. The current lead gives the account dated anchors—1714, 1800, 1674, 1738—that can be checked directly. The linked authority record independently contributes the date 1714-01-16. The account is most persuasive where François, Beauharnais and French can be independently traced.
Editorial analysis

Why this record matters

The subject matters to the people & ideas register because the source frames it as french nobleman, soldier, politician, colonial governor and admiral. Its deeper value depends on whether names, dates, institutions and citations support that framing.

Evidence profile

Chronology provides the most reliable spine for this subject; interpretation should follow only after identities and dates are secure. The source revision retrieved here is dated Aug 31, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q3086122. VIAF identifies the subject as 95410811. 1 of 2 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1714, 1800, 1674 and 1738.

Critical limits

A concise life account rarely captures disputed attribution, private networks or the changing language used to describe a career. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.

How to read it

Read biographical claims against dates, named institutions and the cited references. Distinguish a subject’s later reputation from evidence produced during their lifetime.

Best used for
  • Establishing names and roles
  • Building a first chronology
  • Locating cited institutions
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Personal papers, civil or court records, institutional files and the scholarship cited by the source.

Three-step research path

  1. Establish the record: confirm the title “François de Beauharnais (1714–1800)”, its source revision and the description used here.
  2. Expand the search: follow François de Beauharnais (1714–1800) primary sources, François de Beauharnais (1714–1800) archive and François research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
  3. Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.

Questions for further research

  1. Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “François de Beauharnais (1714–1800)”?
  2. Which claims depend on a single source or contested interpretation?
  3. Which primary records establish identity, chronology and institutional ties?
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Source & attribution

This entry incorporates text from “François de Beauharnais (1714–1800)” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.